Learn About Social Security Income Limits

What to Know About Working While Receiving Retirement Benefits

If you take Social Security benefits before your full retirement age, and you earn income in excess of the annual earnings limit, your Social Security benefit will be reduced until you reach full retirement age.

Investment income does not count toward the annual earnings limit; the only income that counts is earned income — the income you earn by working, either for someone, or as a self-employed person.

If you earn over the limit, there are a set of rules that determine how much your Social Security benefits will be reduced. There are three different earnings limit rules that apply, depending on whether you earn the income before, during, or after the year your reach full retirement age.

Each option is covered below:

1. Income Earned Before the Year You Reach Full Retirement Age

If you are collecting Social Security benefits, and earn more than the annual earnings limit, Social Security will take back $1 of Social Security for every $2 over the limit.

Ouch! This is a serious reduction.

This reduction applies to any year before you reach full retirement age, but it only applies to income earned after you start collecting Social Security benefits. So if you work a partial year, the income you earn before the month you start collecting Social Security benefits does not count toward the annual earnings limit.

Note: Sometimes Social Security website pages use the term "normal retirement age". It means the same thing as full retirement age (FRA).

2. Income Earned During the Year You Reach FRA

During the year you reach FRA, and up to the month you reach FRA, Social Security will deduct $1 for every $3 you earn that is over the annual earnings limit, but a different earnings limit applies the year you reach FRA.

In 2019, the earnings limit is $46,920 during the year you reach FRA. This is a significant increase from 2018, when you earn up to $45,360 – itself a $480 increase from 2017. During this year, Social Security only counts earnings that you receive before the month you reach FRA.

Example 1: Let's assume you were born in 1952, which means your FRA is age 66. You turn 66 in June 2019 and begin your Social Security benefits at that time, but you continue to work until the end of the year, and earn $44,000 for the year. Your benefits will not be reduced because you earned less than the $46,920 for the year.

3. Income Earned After You Reach FRA

Once you reach FRA, you are no longer subject to the annual earnings limit; you can earn as much as you like without incurring a reduction in your Social Security benefits! Your benefits may, however, still be subject to income taxes.

Best Way to Avoid the Earnings Limit

The best way to avoid the earnings limit is to wait until you reach FRA to begin your benefits. Understandably, some people have no choice and must start benefits because they are laid off and they have no other income or assets. If this happens to you, but later your situation changes and you go back to work, you can withdraw your application for Social Security within 12 months of starting benefits.

Other people, however, do have a choice; perhaps they could use some of their savings or retirement money to tide them over until they reach FRA.

This may be a better option than starting Social Security early.

What Counts as Earnings?

Unemployment income does not count as earnings toward the earnings test above. If you are earning wages, income counts when it is earned, not when it is paid. The IRS provides additional details on what is and is not considered to be earned income.

Earnings Limit Is Indexed to Inflation

The earnings limit will adjust upward each year depending on the formal measure of inflation which is the Consumer Price Index. In the table below you see past year's limits for pre-FRA. In the years where it did not change inflation was quite low or negative.